A prominent American Muslim civil rights organisation has launched a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, challenging his controversial executive order that designated the group as a "foreign terrorist organisation".
Legal challenge against 'unconstitutional' order
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which operates more than 20 chapters across the United States, filed the suit late on Monday. The legal action was brought by the CAIR-Foundation and its Florida affiliate, CAIR-Florida, in a Tallahassee federal court.
The lawsuit argues that Governor DeSantis has "usurped the exclusive authority of the federal government" by unilaterally declaring CAIR a terrorist entity. It requests the judge to rule the order as both unlawful and unconstitutional, and to issue an injunction preventing its enforcement.
Defence of free speech cited as motivation
According to the filing, CAIR believes it was targeted by the Florida governor for its legal work defending individuals' free speech rights. The group states it has represented people whom state officials and others have tried to punish for expressing support for Palestinian human rights.
DeSantis's order, issued last week, also applies the same "foreign terrorist" label to the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Arab Islamist political movement. This follows a recent executive order by former President Donald Trump initiating a process to designate certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organisation.
State resources blocked for half a million Muslims
The governor's directive instructs Florida state agencies to block both named groups, and anyone who has provided them with material support, from receiving state contracts, employment, or funds from any executive or cabinet agency.
CAIR estimates that Florida is home to approximately 500,000 Muslim residents who could be affected by the order's implications. When contacted for comment, Governor DeSantis's press secretary, Molly Best, referred to his social media posts on the matter, in which he stated he "looked forward to a trial" and specifically to the discovery process regarding CAIR's finances.
This is not an isolated incident. Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, has issued a similar proclamation. CAIR filed a separate lawsuit last month seeking to strike down Abbott's order, claiming it too is unconstitutional and unsupported by state law.
